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Siege of Berlin
"What surprised me the most about the siege of Berlin is how it was Poniatowski, rather than the Prussians, who did most of the defending. Without walls to properly protect them and thanks to the long range of his cannons, he managed to turn the tables and force the foe to come to him. No wonder they still teach this battle in the military academy today" -Commonwealth General Branicki, speaking of the "Siege of Berlin"- The '''Siege of Berlin, '''also known as the "First battle for Berlin", was a battle fought in the late winter of 1700 between the forces of the Polish crown under general Stanislaw Poniatowski and the Austrian/Prussian alliance under the general command of Prince Eugene of Savoy. While the conquest of Berlin only lasted a few months until it was returned to the Prussian crown, the siege of Berlin is still celebrated as one of the best victories ever accomplished by a Commonwealth army (even if the republic had not been created yet at that time). Outnumbered more than 2 to 1, the royal Polish army was actually the one doing most of the defending during the so-called "siege", to the point where many later historians have trouble deciding who truly is the attacker and the defender during the battle. Poniatowski himself, always willing to inflate his reputation as a daring, cavalry officer who always struck first, insisted for all his life that the "honor" of being the attacker belonged to him and him alone, if only because his forces were the ones who later sacked the Prussian capital. Despite its fame and use by future generations of military officers, the siege of berlin was, at that time, considered to be a risky and useless operation. Due to this attack, Warsaw was left undefended and almost taken by other Prussian armies, with Polish forces to few and spread out to really make use of their newly-conquered terrain. Prelude to the battle Surrounded from all sides Fighting against Prussia and Austria at the same time (each one a superpower of its age), the weakened kingdom of Poland could do very little as their allies of Saxony were taken by imperial forces, thus leaving the kingdom of the crowned eagle alone against larger, stronger enemies. Talks of surrender, of reaching a pact with the other kings were quickly ended by King Augustus of Poland, unwilling to give up without a fight. As the only offensive army in the Polish royal army, the forces of Stanislaw Poniatowski were taked with trying to take ground and at least force one of the kingdom's opponents to make terms and step out of the war, leaving Poland with only one opponent to face. As the nearest city to the kingdom's core territories, the Prussian city of Koniegsberg was thought to be a perfect target. However, the Prussians saw this too and so send reinforcements and created extra fortifications to deal with any future assaults by Polish forces. These moves quickly made the general choose tactics. He knew that, with so many men and walls between his and Koniegsberg, there was no way his still new and small force could hope to take and hold the city. Of course, that did not mean Poniatowski was willing to give up the initiative to his foes. A daring plan With most Prussian armies either marching to the Polish frontier or defending the walls of Koniegsberg, the men left to defend Berlin had been reduced. While still a formidable force in its own right, Poniatowski felt his army would have more chances taking Berlin than they would any city on the frontier. Not expecting an attack like that, the Prussian armies were completely unprepared as Poniatowski took his forces to the Prussian capital, his cavalry at the head slaying sentry posts and patrols so they would not give world to Berlin about the approaching, Polish army. Forced marches saw a few soldiers become strugglers or dissapear during the march. Still, by the time the King of Prussia learnt of the pressence of Poniatowski and his forces, the Polish army was less than a week away from the capital, thus causing great panic amongst the citizens and nobility of Berlin. As the king was evacuated with his royal family, the militia was rallied, alongside several regiments from the royal garrisons. While well-equiped, most were raw recruits. Worse still, with nearly all of Prussia's generals currently at the frontier or in Koniegsberg, the defence of the capital had to be given low-ranking and inexperienced officers, few of whom knew what to do as news continued to arrive of the incoming Polish force. The prince comes to the rescue Victorious after his conquest of Saxony, it was not a Prussian general, but the best Austrian commander of his time, Prince Eugene of Savoy, who answered the plea from help from the city of Berlin. A veteran commander who had fought a dozen campaigns against the Ottomans, he knew speed would be key to making sure Berlin would not fall. With many of his forces still recovering, the Austrian general took a smaller force, using a mixture of "borrowed" horses and carriages to take it quickly to Berlin before Stanislaw Poniatowski could arrive. Such was the need for speed that many horsemen lost their mounts as they made them carry two riders at the same time. Pikemen threw their weapons on carriages and marched at a quick space at their sides, or took whatever horse they could find to catch up with the Prince. As Poniatowski began to create fortifications for his men in one of the nearby hills, news arrived of the incoming Austrian force. Instead of falling back however, the Polish general told his men to dig in and prepare themselves. Soon enough, the besiegers would become the besieged. The battle The prince arrives To the surprise of the Polish force, the Austrian army did not come from the their left flank, but their less-defended right instead. Marching through the night, the prince of Savoy had made sure to catch his foes by surprise, all the while sending a rider to inform the Prussian defenders of his arrival. Feeling like this was their chance to crush the Polish force from two sides at the same time, captain Zelter (the commander of the defenders of Berlin) told his men to leave their hastily-made defences and march forth towars the hill the Polish had taken for themselves. This choice was not only fueled by the arrival of the Austrians, but also the lack of range of the Prussian's artillery pieces. Old and manned by inexperienced crew, the defender's mortars just did not have the range or power of the Polish guns. On the elevation of their hill, the Polish batteries could destroy Prussian fortifications and make bloody holes in their lines as they pleased, a factor which pushed the Prussians to finally take the initiative and try to push the invaders off their hills. A move like that suited Poniatowski just fine. Taking his cavalry and personal guard, the young general left his cannons to weaken the incoming Prussian lines while he rode to meet and slow down the incoming Austrians, thus preventing them from linking with their allies. Not expecting such an attack, the Austria's horse (exhausted after the long march) were quickly surprised as they rode forth to secure a nearby forest, only to be surrounded and swiftly massacred by a bomcined attack of mounted lancers, regiments of horse and Poniatowski and his guards. Still unwilling to slow down and give Poniatowski the initiative, the Prince ordered his men to keep marching towards their foe's flank, a move which left the Austrian guns behind, making them an easy target for the Polish horse. A long, bloody climb in the snow In an attempt to make the Polish believe they were facing the core of the Prussian force, many of the incoming militia and regular, garrison troops had been dressed up in the uniforms of the king's own royal guard, including the tall hats and tall banners carried by veteran grenadier regiments. If the Polish line was scared, they gave no signs of it as they unleashed rifle shot and cannon on the slowly-advancing Prussian blocks. Corpses soon littered the snowy ground behind the advancing, dark-blue Prussian line. Safe behind trenches and wooden walls, Polish line fired as quickly as they were able, their higher elevation making it so the fire the Prussians answered with mostly flew over their heads or smacked harmlessly against their fortifications. After dealing with the enemy cannons, the Polish ulhans commanded by Poniatowski rode forth to fall on the flank of one of the Prussian blocks. While dozens fell, the high numbers of the soldiers and the encouraging cries of their officers kept them from fleeing. A bloody melee ensued, where horses and men died by the dozens in the snow. Seeing that this regiment was not going to flee, Poniatowski was forced to order his men to fall back, a choice made in no small part after the arrival of a reinforcing regiment of Asutrian line which fired at the fleeing horse. Unable to face the now-prepared infantry, the Polish cavalry fell instead on the unprepared mortars at the Prussian's back line. Captain Zentler and the crews under his command were swiftly dispatched by horses and raiders, with only a few survivors manageing to flee back into the city of Berlin. Man to man Seeing how their rifle fire had little effect on their foes, Prussians and Austrians joined forces and charged at the top of the hill, taking many more losses before finally slamming against the red line of Polish infantry. Tired and struggling to move through the snow, the massive charge was stopped by the Polish defenders and a brutal melee ensued. The trenches were taken and re-taken several times as Polish, Prussians and Austrians took and gave ground to their enemies. Lacking training and unable to distinguish what was going on from the smoke and snow dust coming from the hill, armed citizenry fired blindly to the melee, slaying more Prussians and Austrians that they did Polish forces. Yet not everything was going well for the Polish. On their right, hunters from the Prince's Austrian forces not only managed to take pursuing enemy horses into irregular ground, but also shatter their formation with several volleys of shot. Even as they reached the Austrian hunters, to few horsemen remained to make any impact on the hunters, who finally forced them back. Poniatowski himself would take his horsemen through this force, finally shattering it as he tried to pull the Austrian pikemen away from the front lines, knowing how these veteran, close combat soldiers could easily turn the tables should they reach the hill. In the balance The battle had reached its cenity by that point. After several failed charges, Prussian and Austrian infantry had been pushed back out of the trenches, yet they still managed to keep some territory, firing close-range volleys which caused mayhem amongst the few remaining Polish regiments. The defenders fired back, yet ammunition was starting to grow low, as were the number of men able to still carry weapons or fight in bloody close combat. Finally, it was the Polish ulhans who turned the table back to Poniatowski's side. Knowing how it was the prince of Savoy who managed to keep the two armies from fleeing, the Polish commander ordered his lancers to hunt down and kill the Austrian leader. Finding it in a forest, the men charged, slaying several bodyguards with their lances before releasing their blades to hack their way to the veteran leader of the allied forces. Soon surrounded from all sides, the Prince of Savoy managed to cut down a few of his opponents and nearly managed to force his foes back before a lancer by the name of Ulrick Branicki sent the tip of his spear through the general's armpit just as he rose his sword to hack down another foe. Coughing blood, the prince fell from his saddle, making the remains of his bodyguard to lose heart and break. As news arrived of this new change on the battlefield, Poniatowski sent a rider to the hill, telling his men to close ranks and charge downhill. Bloodied and lacking bayonets, the line infantry obeyed and, to their own surprise, managed to make their Prussian foes flee for their lives, with many throwing down their weapons to run away faster back to the capital. The rest of the battle was a mop-up operation for the Polish forces. Isolated groups, including the exhausted pikemen, were easily surrounded and forced to surrender, thus ending the siege of Berlin. Category:Battles Category:Historical Events